


No Right Turns

by ntyrsweetheart



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Awkwardness, F/M, First Meetings, Formula One, Mechanic Rey, Reylo - Freeform, driver ben, meet ugly, the author knows nothing about formula one racing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:34:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25063219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ntyrsweetheart/pseuds/ntyrsweetheart
Summary: "Don't fuck up the paint."Rey turns around to see Solo glaring at her... which makes no sense."Excuse me?""The last girl they shot on the hood wore heels and scratched the shit out of the paint. I don't want to deal with your mistakes."He hops into the other car, revs the engine, and pulls onto the track to begin warm-up laps. Rey looks down at her coveralls, and the wrench set and rag in her hand. She pops the hood and begins her inspection. This season at First Order Racing is going to be a long one, she can feel it in her bones.---------Ben is a Formula 1 driver for Ferrari and Rey is the team's new head mechanic. They fall in love and build a wonderful life together... eventually. But when they first meet, Ben just can't seem to get it right.A meet-ugly inspired by twitter comments.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 11
Kudos: 107





	No Right Turns

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BensCalligraphySet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BensCalligraphySet/gifts).



> This is a one-shot inspired by Fran (@BensCalligraphySet here on AO3 and @galacticidiots on twitter). The original prompt is they fall in love and have a life and a daughter together, but wouldn't it be fun to write the lead up? And I was like, "Hold my beer, this is going to get cringey."
> 
> I don't know anything about F1 racing and don't care to learn. The technical details should be taken with all the hand-waveyness. I don't intend to write in this world more than this one-shot. Unbetaed.

"Don't fuck up the paint."

Rey turns around to see Solo glaring at her... which makes no sense.

"Excuse me?"

"The last girl they shot on the hood wore heels and scratched the shit out of the paint. I don't want to deal with your mistakes." 

He hops into the other car, pops on his helmet, revs the engine, and pulls onto the track to begin warm-up laps. Rey looks down at her coveralls, and the wrench set and rag in her hand. She pops the hood and begins her inspection. This season at First Order Racing is going to be a long one, she can feel it in her bones.

\------

As Ben begins his laps around the track, he tries to get his heart rate down. Normally Hux at least texts him when the PR and ad teams descend. He hates being surprised, and Hux knows it. It's a huge inconvenience to not get to work it around his schedule. Thankfully, they were using the car that was needing maintenance, and so he didn't have to wait to get his laps in. But the girl... the girl they brought in this time... is incredibly gorgeous, actually. Not some surgically altered Amazon that is sure to sell calendars. Those women are nice enough to look at, but don't hold his attention for long. Their faces and bodies are beautiful, but too perfect, and for the most part, look exactly the same. Tall, leggy, long hair that fades to blonde and is carefully curled. Tan and skin that shimmers, perfect proportions. But this girl... chin length bob served to highlight her incredible cheekbones, and the little makeup she was wearing made her eyes shine.

And he fucked it up, like and idiot. Again.

Of course the first thing he does is put his foot in his mouth. Instead of striking up a conversation with her like a normal person, or even mention who he was, he was rude. The Solo charm skipping out on him when he needs it most. It's not that he's above using his status to meet people; it's just that whenever he opens his mouth he just can't seem to get it right. Even with all of the press training he's received throughout his lifetime, talking to strangers never gets easier. And it's even worse out at the bar with Poe, or at one of his mother's events, where people don't know him and possibly already like him (or at least his celebrity in the car world). 

Anyway, he needs to focus. After this run, he's got a meeting with the head engineer of his team, Rose, and some new mechanic, a Ray Niima, to get his input on a new build for the season. Snoke wants him to sweep every race this season, and has put the money in place to make that happen. So, no pressure there or anything.

Ben's headset crackles to life, and Finn gives him the all clear to open up the throttle and get up to speed. 

\-----

Pulling into the pit, the crew runs around the car like a swarm of ants in their matching jumpsuits and helmets. He's making better time today than he has most of last season, but it's not enough yet to guarantee victory. Hopefully this new guy will be able to build him a car that matches all of the time and effort he has put into training in the off season. He's tired, and Snoke's furious, of consistently coming in second or third place, only occasionally taking the top spot. He's got a family legacy to live up to, and a name to make for himself this season. 

Finishing up, his time is good, but not great. He did better last season, but not by much. He pulls himself out of the car, and removes his helmet, moving to stretch after being confined for so long. Looking into the pit, he sees Hux leaning against an awning support, one leg crossed casually over the other, Twitter feed reflected in his aviators. Before Ben can so much as reach into the cooler for a sports drink, Hux, without so much as looking up, scoffs.

"You smell like teenage desperation. It's a good thing you've already pissed off your new mechanic. No need to worry about making a good impression."

Rolling his eyes, Ben pushes past Hux and grabs the newest electrolyte drink from Mos Eisley. It tastes kind of chalky, but he doesn't think he should go for one of their energy drinks right now.The fact that Hux seems genuinely delighted means that he HAS had an interaction with the guy. Thinking back through his day, he remembers ignoring a photography team in the lobby, nodding to Poe's manager, and then making his way to the locker room. But that's par for the course. He's one of three drivers who use this track regularly to practice, so it's not uncommon to have random strangers in and out with gear, merch, parts, or sponsor swag. His stomach unsettles, and he feels his heart rate pick up again. What was he missing?

"As my manager, aren't you supposed to be here to facilitate our meeting? I don't know what this guy looks like, and I haven't spoken to any crew outside of my team."

"Oh look, here I am. Facilitating. Doing my job. Not offending the new mechanic."

He's still scrolling through Twitter, and has stopped to swipe through pictures that his on-again, off-again girlfriend posted. Topless. Apparently she's moved on from scratching up his cars to swimsuit modeling. Between his own anxiety, Hux's blase attitude, and the reminder of the shit he got from having to drive a less than pristine car, there's now an impotent rage rising up inside of him. And the worst part is that Hux may be his manager, but he's Snoke's choice (and employee), not Ben's. So as much as he wants to punch Hux for his flippant disregard, he takes a deep breath instead.

"Since I'm already off to a bad start, do I have time for a quick shower?"

Hux is still drooling over the bikini model's pictures when he waves him off.

"Sure, go knock yourself out."

\-----

Ben returns to the garage area after a shower, if not less anxious, at least smelling better and with his hair freshly styled. As he walks in, he sees the same girl from before, this time in skinny jeans and a tank top. She's bent at the waist, and rifling though the bottom drawer of one of the rolling tool chests. Her ass is - not something he's going to focus on, he was raised to be a gentleman. He looks around, but the rest of the team must already be in one of the meeting rooms adjacent to the garage space. 

"Look, sweetheart," he starts, startling her upright. "You're cute as hell, but you can't be here any longer. Once the shoot is finished you're supposed to leave."

He can see her hackles rising. Her eyes widen, and her posture adjusts to a power stance, hands on her hips, feet apart. She searches his face for a minute. Whatever she sees in him, it's clear she finds him lacking. Her eyes narrow and her lips purse. As she bends over to pick up a backpack, he gets a teasing hint of cleavage and the edge of a lacy bra cup. He catches sight of the Ferrari logo as she swings it over one shoulder and tromps through the door before him. As he tosses his dirty jumpsuit into the hamper, he can feel his ears flaming, wondering where that WONDERFUL line came from. He had a second chance to talk to her and he blew it. It was more like his father than anything he'd normally say, and he just doesn't have Han's natural charm. The litany of "stupid, stupid, stupid," takes up its chorus in the back of his mind. Taking a few deep breaths, Ben takes a minute to let his stomach settle and to stop sweating, and then heads through the same door, towards the mall conference room. With any luck, he won't have to see her (or even better yet, embarrass himself in front of her) again.

But he's never been that lucky in his life. As he walks into the room, he sees her chatting with Rose and Finn, paying attention to whatever Rose is trying to illustrate with her hands. Rose looks up, makes eye contact, and waves him over.

"Ben! Come on over! I'd like to introduce you to our new mechanic, Rey Niima!"

Rose gives him her megawatt smile as Rey, Rey the model, Rey the mechanic, Rey on which the technical side of his season rests, Rey whom he made an ass of himself in front of not once, but twice today, turns and stares at him with dead eyes and an unamused face. She extends her hand to shake.

"Rey Niima. Former Ferrari tech, current lead mechanic for First Order. Nice to meet you." 

Her voice makes it very clear that it is anything but nice to meet him. Standing close to her, he can see the startling golden hazel of her eyes, and the freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks. He swallows, and before he can do anything to try to salvage the situation, to apologize for what happened and his confusion, he opens his big fat mouth to put his foot in it again.

"But Ray is a man's name. I wasn't expecting you."

Rose and Finn's jaws drop, and all three stare at him. Rey slowly lowers her hand, and like an idiot, he NOW tries to reach out and shake it. What ends up happening is an awkward brush of fingers as she pulls away. He can see an additional shine in her eyes, from frustration or hurt, he can't tell. 

"My name is Rey. Spelled R-e-y. It's the name my parents gave me, and it's worked for me my entire life." The more she speaks, the louder she gets. He can also detect a slight British accent beginning to peek through. "I assumed that with a female engineer and another woman on your pit crew, this wouldn't be a problem, but apparently I was wrong." She swings the backpack on her shoulder to the front, and pulls a business card from a side pocket. "Most of my work will be with Rose and Finn. Email me your specs and any questions. I'm done for the day."

She snaps the business card down on the conference table, and Ben catches another glimpse of cleavage, and the freckles are there too. Turning, Rey gives Rose a tight smile, Finn a quick hug, and nearly body checks him on her way out the door. Hux gives a low whistle from where he's leaned back in one of the conference table's chairs, thumbs flying across the screen of his phone. He's sending a report to Snoke, no doubt, detailing all of the ways that Ben is deficient. 

"I'm.... Gonna go." Ben puffs out his cheeks, then releases the breath in a woosh. He slips the card into his back pocket. "I'll tag you on the email,' he sighs to Rose, looking around the room. He fishes his keys from his front pocket and makes his way to the parking lot. Making it's way onto the street, he sees her driving off in a terracotta orange vintage pickup truck. He doesn't begin to feel any better about the day until after he's sent an apology email as well as arranged for an Edible Arrangement to be delivered to the address listed on her business card.

That night, he dreams of his new car, but with two seats instead of one. Rey is driving, smiling, laughing at him. It feels good, like she's laughing with him, like he's made her happy. The warm feeling in his mind paints the dream honey gold. She's got her right hand resting on his thigh, and his arm is over her shoulders. He can feel the curve of her hip brushing against his whenever they shift, and occasionally, the fingers of his left hand brush across the side of her breast.

When he wakes up in the morning, he's hard, longing for her hands.

Shit.


End file.
